Donation

As the economy is getting worse, more social organizations require donations from the public. We may donate a few dollars on street, but how can we know whether an organization is worth to donate if we want to donate more say a hundred dollars?

I think a simple way is to know the background of the charity you want to donate. We can go to see the website of the charity and see whether you like to support the services provided by the charity. In addition, you need to see the annual report to find out how the charity has spent its donations. If a charity has spent a substantial amount of donations to its staff salary, you should be careful. A good charity should, from my point of view, spends 90% of its income to its services. Anything between 80% and 89% is acceptable. Lower than 80% is not a good charity. If a charity cannot even provide a financial statement in its annual report, don't donate.

Be competitive

In the last 15 years, more people received post-secondary education. The result is that more educated people go to the job market. The market becomes more competitive in terms of education background.

20 years ago, you could assure yourself that you would get a decent job if you had a bachelor degree. 10 years ago, you could assure yourself that you were ahead of others if you had a master degree; and for those with a bachelor degree only, they had to work hard to find a good job. Now, you can assure yourself that you will have a good chance to get a job if you have a doctorate degree; and for those with a master degree only, they are not so sure and for the poor ones who only have a bachelor degree, tough life ahead.

If you still have years before retirement and want to be competitive, keep studying.